Kirby’s Epic Yarn

Playing With Yarn

Who Knew It Could Be So Fun?

Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect the first time I heard about Kirby’s Epic Yarn. A video game where all of the characters and obstacles are made out of yarn? It sounded intriguing to be sure…but yarn? I just really wasn’t sure how they were going to pull it off. But, despite my trepidations, I decided to try it. And I am really glad I did. Kirby’s Epic Yarn is a well-made, beautifully artistic game, and while it can never replace games like Paper Mario (at least in my heart), it is definitely a worthwhile, really fun game to play.

The first thing I noticed in Kirby’s Epic Yarn was the graphics. The 2-D yarn world you get immersed in is full of bright vivid colors and the characters, obstacles and enemies you encounter are just downright cute. As you advance through the levels, you get to unravel foes (no killing here), jump to yarn platforms, gather coins, pull strings, or even turn into a yarn anvils or parachutes to get where you want to go. Sometimes you even get to turn into really cool things like yarn worms, fire trucks or vehicles that eat up fuzz obstacles that (even though it is on a screen) looks remarkably similar to that stuff that comes out of stuffed animals.

Not only is there no killing in Kirby’s Epic Yarn, there is no dying either. If you fall or run into a yarn foe, all that happens is you lose some of your beads. Don’t get me wrong though. There is plenty of motivation to not let that happen. After all that hard work collecting all those beads, the last thing you want to do is lose them just because you accidentally got too close to a little creature made from yarn. It’s a good incentive and works well, but if you happen to be playing with someone else simultaneously, it can lead to frustration. There were many instances while my husband and I were playing in which he went about collecting beads and I went about losing them all. Fortunately, he was a good sport about it. After all, who could stay upset in a colorful world of yarn and fluff?

When it come to game play, Kirby’s Epic Yarn has all the elements you would expect from really good games. You have the epic quest to reunite the yarn kingdom. You have puzzles that slowly advance in difficulty as the game progresses. You have variety in the gameplay itself so nothing feels monotonous. You have fun music, great graphics, and memorable characters. This is one of those rare games that are just a lot of fun for kids and adults alike. So, with Kirby’s Epic Yarn, what you might have is a really good Christmas present idea.

Score out of 7:

Graphics: 7 – The rich colors and creative characters are beautiful to behold.

Sound: 6 – What family game would be complete without cute, fun music?

Control: 7 – I never had any problems with the control in this game.

Gameplay: 6 – There was a lot of variety in all the different things you could do. It made for a challenging and fun game in a yarn world.

Story: 6 – This story is like all the others: you must save the adorable yarn kingdom from the evil yarn foe. It may be predictable, but it’s fun and it works. Besides, if it’s not broken, why fix it?

Content: 7 – This is a great family game; nothing to be concerned about.

Final: 6 – I may have been hesitant about whether or not a game made entirely out of yarn characters could be pulled off successfully, but Kirby’s Epic Yarn proved to me that, without a doubt, it could. Now my only question is: how did they come up with all those different ways for us to play with yarn?